


Welcome Home

by Impetus



Series: A New Age [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged up characters, M/M, Shance Fluff Week 2017, aged up boyfriends, future/past prompt, shance, she/her pronouns for pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 14:24:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impetus/pseuds/Impetus
Summary: The time has come to find and train the new Paladins of Voltron.  Team Voltron is reuniting, and two men deal with a decision they made years ago.





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jennypen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennypen/gifts).



Even as the years passed, Lance still loved to fly. It was rare to have a moment to just fly off with Blue, careening through space by the power of a magic no one really understood. Politics began to eat up their lives after the war ended and the team was far flung throughout the universe. A mimicry of the lions prior to their awakening.

Keith was with the Galra, trying to help them rebuild their society and their reputation as they ceded all of the planets not rightfully theirs. It was a long and arduous process that suited Keith surprisingly well. Age smoothed out his edges, their years at war and the presence of a team at his back teaching him patience to go along with his insurmountable talent. The Galra admired his aggressive personality and desire to tackle things head on. They welcomed him now, and he found a place to belong, far from a desert inhabited only by lonely memories and a gut feeling.

Pidge, Hunk, and Coran traveled the universe together. Their team small, only additionally consisting of her father and brother as they worked to help those planets made dependent on their Galra rulers. Reestablishing farmlands, working on medical advancements, and performing research studies. Just like Shay who had wanted to see the sky and the Holts who dared explore the edge of their solar system; Hunk and Pidge ensured that those who dreamed could achieve those dreams safely. 

As they grew older, Hunk only grew more relaxed in his position. The anxious boy from the Garrison had grown into a still slightly anxious but determined and powerful man. Voltron gave him the tools to become someone who could do what he had been afraid of trying. He became known for his warm smile, face eaten up by a beard that had taken far too long to grow yet was impossible to get rid of. He built the fastest ships and strongest defense systems. The yellow lion’s name sake stamped on every piece of equipment the new Alliance used. 

Lance’s obsessive self care aside, Pidge aged the best out of all of them, still as small, spry, and sharp tongued as she’d ever been. Where the years carved into the skin around the eyes and foreheads of her friends, she wore crowns of technology. Trinkets she’d pieced together to see farther, hear better, learn more. They also had built-in protection from the rays of every sun they passed, she noted. She did not mention that she knew that the wrinkles she saw on the others also came from them trying to protect throughout the years. Pidge was the youngest and she knew it. She showed her gratefulness in Shiro’s new arm, Keith’s fancy tech sword, and the communications system she built so that Hunk and Lance could contact home. Hunk told Lance about the people they met--the courting rituals of the Odari and the fighting culture of the Morantians. 

Coran missed home. He would no longer see the juniberries or dance under the green light of two new moons. So he made sure that every planet they touched would return to the glory of those who would remember it. As hope overcame fear, the heritage and history kept alive in whispers found a home in new technological and cultural movements. Circles built around him as he went to each new place, asked questions, and listened. He took the stories they told him and made them a reality as he returned their homes to them. Something he wished someone could do for him.

 

They policed the universe, traveling to wherever need arose as many planets tried to cobble together a living from their ravaged lands. The group often reconvened with Allura and Shiro, who traveled together in the castle of lions. Traveling the universe as a beacon of hope and a reminder of the power that resided in the hands of five once young paladins. Five paladins whose positions had gradually shifted. Five Paladins who would begin looking for others to take up the mantle after they officially moved on.

So was the news to Lance, liaison between The Alliance and Earth. He had spent much of his time on Earth in the past decade or so, getting Earth up to speed with the help of Pidge and Hunk who tended to make pit stops home more often than not. But this was not by word of Pidge and Hunk. 

When Shiro popped up on Lance’s communications screen, Lance just about swallowed his tongue. Twelve years had only made Shiro all the more beautiful. His figure in the video just as defined and regal as it had been the last time they’d seen each other in person. The last time Lance and Shiro had decided that the universe needed them more than they needed each other. Just as it always had. 

The moment Lance resigned himself to looking up at the stars from the sands of the beach they’d promised to visit together. 

“Lance, we need you to return to the castle of lions--we’re beginning the recruitment.” Shiro’s voice was as firm and deep as Lance remembered, the scars and creases in his skin catching light and shadow in a way Lance couldn’t help but admire. Shiro had only grown more dignified in the years they’d been apart and the change brought up youthful giddy feelings in Lance’s gut. 

He wasn’t old by any means. Forty two years old with a thing for forty eight year old childhood heroes, maybe. But old? Not at all. 

So he told everyone that the time had come for him to go back to the Alliance for an _extended stay._ He had a job to do. His family had reacted as he expected them too. Lots of tears, and a very stubborn set of his siblings’ children clamoring to come with him. A kiss for each head and a hug for every set of arms that caressed his face and told him to come back safe. 

Flying felt like waking back up. Every small taste of it he had in his free time brought him relief and this time was no different. Up he went, Blue around him as they flew straight for where they knew the others were. They were already together and he could feel it--a sense of belonging and _family_ that had never really gone away calling him into the expanse of an ever changing universe. 

The journey was relatively quick. Blue opened a wormhole once she had cleared the solar system and Lance’s expression brightened as he caught sight of the castle. It had gotten a few new additions, the freedom post-war and political demand having given the team an excuse to really spruce up their living space. Things had changed more than Lance expected, if the three or four new wings were any indication. Regardless, his heart thumped with recognition and he let out a loud whoop for old time’s sake, circling the castle once to take in the more recent additions before finally coming back around.

He had lots of practice, and despite being rusty, he managed to pull off a few aerial maneuvers for the audience he knew was watching before heading to the hangars. Once Blue settled in on her haunches, Lance pulled his helmet off and stood, stretching--the paladin suit a little tighter than he remembered it being. He shook out his hair and ran his fingers through it nervously. 

The last people he’d seen from the team were Hunk, Pidge, and Coran when they’d hovered close enough to Earth to hail him from orbit. They were the ones he kept in touch with the most so their changes were gradual and starkly positive. They looked rugged and noble as they continued to fight the good fight and bring life back to barren lands. In comparison, the time on Earth might have treated him a little too kindly. All the time spent in suits sitting in meetings making him too comfortable. At least, that’s what he figured when he noticed that his abs had disappeared. 

“Still too skinny,” his mother often said, clicking her tongue.

Her impossibly well fed standards aside, Lance was worried that the time spent in space had kept the others in shape he couldn’t quite maintain by swimming laps in the quiet pool sitting three meters from his empty home. It felt lonely.

But he truly loved Earth. Loved its beaches and enjoyed the attentions of those who were impressed by his status, his name. But he missed them. Missed him.

The cold sound of his footsteps reverberating through metal brought him back to the present. He knew they were waiting in the hangar. Shiro was waiting in the hangar. It was now or never and no amount of swimming laps or exercise could prepare him for seeing Shiro again. No number of flirtations from the enamored back on Earth could get his heart beating the way it was now. 

“C’mon, Lance. Get a grip,” he whispered to himself. Still standing at the top of Blue’s ramp he tried to collect his thoughts. He was still alone and he was still pining like the young boy he’d thought shed in the face of responsibility. “Everyone has been busy. Everyone will continue to be busy. Shiro’s got his stuff and you’ve got yours. Don’t get all gushy.” He straightened his shoulders and tugged on his uniform one last time before stepping forward and down into the hangar. Just like he had expected, there they were.

There he was. 

Their eyes met. 

Then Lance looked away as Hunk began to move.

“Lance!” Hunk shouted, bolting forward to scoop Lance off of his feet. They both started hollering, pushing at each other and laughing raucously as the others surrounded them and they settled into a group hug. “Still always fashionably late I see,” Hunk joked, rubbing his face into Lance’s chest. “I missed you, man.” 

“I missed you too, dude,” Lance’s chin rested on top of Hunk’s head. The rest of the team grinning around them. Hunk sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he let Lance go and made room for the others to greet his best friend. 

Keith smirked up at him from his left before reaching out to tug on Lance’s collar. “Looks like you haven’t touched this in years.”

Lance scoffed. “I was doing paladin work on Earth that, I don’t know, maybe required wearing Earth clothes? Suits and all that jazz. Not that you would know _desert dweller._ ” Keith laughed at that, relaxing before stepping away and knocking Lance’s shoulder with his knuckles.

“It’s good to see you again, Blue.”

“Yeah, yeah, same to you, Red.” 

They both smiled at each other, sharing a moment of familiar and hardwon friendship before Pidge swooped into their space and gave Lance a quick poke with an instrument he had never seen before. He yelped when it stung before she squinted at it, obviously looking at a reader in its handle. 

She nodded. “You’re clean of bugs and illnesses,” she said curtly, glasses glinting as she shook the vaguely medical looking stick at him. “New invention made to be able to check every kind of species we’ve come across. Wanted to test on it a real live _Earth Human._ ” Her teasing voice belied the message behind her words.

“I’m glad you’re healthy too, Pidge.” Despite how they’d grown, Lance had never stopped seeing Pidge like a younger sibling. Or looking down at her with his often lorded six inches. He leaned in, planting an exaggerated kiss on the crown of her head. She groaned before swatting him away and running off to show Hunk the results of their experiment. Lance laughed. She had not changed much.

Coran’s grip on him hadn’t let up, the older man still strong despite his age. Alteans were a long lived species and Coran was every bit as energetic as he had always been. “Lance, my boy! Welcome back!” The Altean hefted him off the ground in a manner similar to Hunk before unceremoniously letting him back down. “I’ve got plenty of neat things to show you once you’re all settled! I think you’ll like it.” He paused to twirl his mustache and send Lance a quick wink. “We stopped on a planet that was approximately ninety percent ocean! We have a couple new friends that didn’t want to leave us that I’d like you to meet!” He chirped. Lance grinned and nodded, patting Coran’s arm when Allura stepped up beside him. She had not quite participated in the group hug, but lingered in the shared space nonetheless. 

“Welcome back Lance,” she smiled, voice as lofty and noble as it had always been. But the slight wavering stitched into her words told him all he needed to know. 

“Looking as vibrant and beautiful as ever, Princess,” he winked, arms wrapping around her with a force that couldn’t match the strength with which she gripped him.

“And you’re as insufferable of a flirt as ever,” she sighed in fake exasperation. “You never change do you?’

“When faced with a gorgeous specimen like yourself? Never,” Lance drawled. They both giggled, their relationship having long since settled into something comfortable and silly. The lack of their ritualistic self care and spa days left Lance a little bereft when he had gone home. “Can’t get rid of me, princess,” he chuckled.

“Couldn’t imagine ever wanting to.” Her gentle smile was radiant. She shot a knowing look over his shoulder before making an excuse and going to discuss something with the others. 

Lance stiffened when he felt the warm body standing at his back, a new age Altean tech hand coming to rest on his right arm. Gently it moved him, turning him around to face its owner. Now or never.

“Glad to have you back, Lance.” Shiro was still a little taller than him. Shoulders broad in a way he couldn’t quite achieve. Hair a little shaggier on the sides with some wrinkles littering his skin, but otherwise unchanged. Still beautiful. 

“Shiro,” the name left his mouth with a woosh. Breathy in a way that had Lance flushed from embarrassment. Shiro colored red as well, the blush against his skin rising prettily to Lance’s attention. They both paused, staring at each other as if trying to understand what the other was thinking.

Has it been too long?

Has he changed?

Does he still love me like I love him?

Shiro cleared his throat, before his eyes darted away. “You’re looking well.”

“And you’re looking embarrassing and gushy as hell!” Came a brash voice. Lance jerked and looked over Shiro’s shoulder to find the source. Shiro sighed and shook his head before turning to face the noisemaker. There stood a group of assorted young beings, their expressions ranging from nervous to excited. 

“Lance, please meet the Paladin trainees.” Shiro said, voice firm and clear in the now quiet hangar. 

“They’re so young,” Lance stage whispered.

“And you’re gross old men!” Came the same voice, a confident and brash alien with a swinging ponytail and bright yellow eyes, huffing with impatience. “Now can we start with training? You said that once the blue paladin arrived that we would begin!

“My name is Lance,” Lance called back drily. “Remember that.”

“Sorry, _Sir Lance._ ” she muttered sarcastically. 

“Perfect,” Lance said turning back to look at Shiro, eyes softening as they both smiled at each other in understanding. “I never thought I’d ever be the mature one in any situation but here we are.”

Shiro laughed aloud at that. “Well, let’s get some food and then we can bring you up to speed.” 

“Don’t spend too much time making out, Sirs Lance and Shiro!” The same alien called, leading the rest of the pack of mumbling and curious trainees out of the hangar. Their shuffling slow as several of the paladin hopefuls kept pausing to look back at the new arrival.

Lance turned to look at the rest of the team before glancing back at Shiro. “Is she always like that?” 

Pidge scoffed, eyes rolling. “That’s not even close to her usual level.” She pulled out another instrument to examine before shrugging. “She’s one of the best in offensive training.”

Hunk chuckled before clapping a hand against Keith’s back. “Well, she definitely has tenacity and the tendency to bare her teeth. That’s for sure.” He turned his bright smile back toward Lance. “They’re sharp, and she’s not afraid to use them.”

Lance let out a bark of laughter. “Yikes, she Red’s?” Lance asked, poking fun at Keith’s well known but slightly tempered aggressive personality. 

“Possibly,” the red paladin muttered. Obviously looking a little put out. “She’s a little much for me.” Keith kicked at the clean flooring and crossed his arms. His scowl and pouting posture rife with resignation. 

“So she’s perfect,” Lance teased. 

Keith rolled his eyes and didn’t respond, choosing instead to nudge Allura and request that they discuss the newest development in the Galran Altean alliance. Coran hurried off to check on the aforementioned aquatic friends and after a little more small talk, Pidge and Hunk dispersed as they got back to the duties they’d picked up at the castle. Eventually, it was just Lance and Shiro. 

They stood, the tension shattered earlier returning full force in the silence. Lance unconsciously reached out, his hand finding Shiro’s. The Black paladin looked down at their tangled fingers before turning his gaze back upward, his free-hand coming up to cup Lance’s face.

“You’re even more gorgeous than I remember,” Lance said, chancing a kiss to Shiro’s fingers as they passed over his lips. Shiro shook his head.

“I should be saying that to you.” 

Lance raised a brow, “you’ve gotten smoother. Anything you want to tell me?”

“If you’re implying what I think you’re implying then we both know the answer is no.” Shiro’s teeth glinted in the bright hangar lighting as he smiled the same smile Lance couldn’t have forgotten if he tried.

Now or never. 

“I still lo-” Shiro cut off Lance’s words with the firm press of their lips. Lance looked at Shiro in disbelief, mouth hanging open. “Hey, let me finish! I-I’ve thought about this moment so many times...” Lance trailed off. Years of being unable to say the things he’d been holding in forced him to voice his feelings, but now he simply stood, rendered speechless as Shiro took his full attention.

“ _Lance,_ ” Shiro hummed, his expression bordering shy when their eyes met, still filled with an all encompassing warmth they had discovered years ago. “Every day of the years we spent apart I wished I could take back what we promised. The universe is better off with us together.” He sighed, lashes fluttering with every heave of his chest. “Lance, I love you too. So much.” 

Lance grinned in response and pulled Shiro in close. The stubble on Shiro’s cheeks and jaw rough against the palm of his hand. “I’m here now,” Lance whispered. Breath puffing against Shiro’s lips before they kissed once more.

“Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this a read!  
> I was really bummed that I wasn't participating in SHANCE fluff week but I wanted to and this happened to work out for it perfectly! I hope you enjoyed! This was originally for Jen but then become something else so her fic will be coming a little later ;)


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